A World of Hurt: Merlin
by SkiesAndStories
Summary: Several HurtMerlin stories together, prompts welcome! NO SLASH. Chapter 6 (Looks part 2) up NOW, Merlin is sad, Kilgharrah is angry, Gwen feels all kinds of feelings and Lancelot helps out!
1. My Friend

**So, my first fanfic story... I hope you guys like it! I mean to make this a compilation of all kinds of MerlinHurt fanfics, prompts are greatly appreciated. NO SLASH**

**The first one is an idea of my own and will be a two-shot:**

_My Friend_

He was exhausted. Arthur had been in a particular bad mood the last few days and made him work twice as hard, with no breaks whatsoever. And even when he got a few hours to rest, Gaius needed him to gather herbs for his potions. That wasn't Gaius fault, he didn't know the mood swings Arthur could endure every once in a while and he just needed the herbs to treat his patients. However, between Arthur, Gaius and his destiny (if only Arthur knew how many times he could have died this last week) Merlin hadn't slept for days. Merlin wiped his face and yawned for what seemed like the hundredth time that night. On top of all that, he hadn't had a proper meal for 3 days either. Because of all the work, he left his chambers before Gaius woke, so Gaius just presumed Merlin had eaten something and Arthur presumed Merlin had eaten breakfast with Gaius. Now he was running a quick errant for Gaius, but he had to stop and control his breath.

"Pull it together Merlin, it isn't even noon yet." He muttered to himself. He rubbed his eyes a few times and continued his walk... only to be stopped by Gwaine and Lancelot a few moments later. The knights both eyed him curiously.

"Merlin, are you okay?" Gwaine asked.

"Yeah I'm fine Gwaine." Merlin tried to stifle a yawn, but his attempt failed miserably.

"Are you sure? You don't look fine." Lancelot said, worry obvious in his voice.

"Well thanks..." Merlin responded. "I'm fine guys, just a bad night. Why do you even care?" With that, Merlin turned the following corner and left the stunned knights behind. They shared a look before they joined the other knights for training. They both knew Merlin was anything but fine, he never had snapped at them before. They figured they would ask him again later, when he would hopefully be in a better mood.

* * *

He had finished his errant for Gaius and was back in Arthur's chambers. It took him all his might to keep standing up while Arthur listed his chores for the rest of the day. And with all his might he meant áll his might. Gaius would definitely slap him on the head for this, but if it wasn't for his magic he would've long passed out.

"Are you even paying attention?" Arthur's voice drew him out of his own thoughts and back into reality. "I'm moments away from what is probably the most important treaty of my reign and you aren't even paying the slightest attention to me. Just clean my room while I'm gone, I hope you can handle that.'

And then Merlin snapped. "You know what, yes I wasn't paying attention, you know how boring you can be sometimes. Maybe you have to grow some brains of yourself and learn how to keep your own room clean, because I'm only one person and I'm working for the biggest prat there is!" With that he pushed past Arthur and stormed out of the door.

"Merlin! Come back here, NOW!" but Merlin ignored the calls and ran away, nearly bumping into Sir Leon in the process.

Leon entered Arthur's chambers. "What was that all about?" He asked.

Arthur was seething. He was having the most horrible week ever and now Merlin didn't even support him. Not that he would ever admit it to anyone in public, but Merlin's opinion mattered to him. The boy was just being ridiculous right now. As if Arthur never did something on his own. However, it indeed seemed Merlin always was there when he did. He growled. Now he even doubted himself. Stupid Merlin. He had no right to talk to him that way.

"Sir Leon, I want you to find Merlin and bring him to the dungeons. When he is reasonable he can be let out."

"But your Highness…" Sir Leon started.

"No, Leon, just do as you're told. I don't want to lock you away too." Arthur didn't need Merlin now, he didn't need anyone. He could cope perfectly fine on his own.

* * *

Merlin watched over the battlement of the castle. He remembered when he and Arthur had stood here together. What had he been thinking? He had yelled at Arthur, at his prince… at his destiny. He hadn't known what came over him; he just couldn't handle it anymore. He would be glad if this whole treaty thing would be over. Maybe destiny could give him a break and he could live a few more relaxing weeks. He once again rubbed his sore eyes when he heard someone behind him. Great, now he had to act as if nothing was wrong with him again. However as he wanted to turn around to face the person, the person grabbed his arm.

"What…"

"Sorry Merlin, direct orders from the king. You have to cool down in the dungeons for some time." He heard Sir Leon say.

That was the final straw. All week he had worked without even the slightest rest. And what for... to get thrown in the dungeons by the man he gave his live for on a daily basis. The only thing that had kept him going was the fact he actually cared. He wanted to fulfil his destiny; he wanted to keep Arthur safe. But it seemed Arthur didn't even care the slightest bit about him. His magic stopped supporting him. His world started swaying; his vision was showing black spots and he saw two Leons before him. He couldn't hear what the Leons were saying as his heart was beating frantically in his chest and his blood was running in his ears. His legs started to buckle; he couldn't keep focused anymore. Before Leon knew what was happening Merlin fell unconscious in his arms.

What Leon saw made him panic... Merlin's face was deathly pale and the boy was motionless. For a moment Leon thought the boy was dead and it scared him more than he liked to admit. Carefully he laid the boy on the ground and checked his pulse. His heartbeat was way too fast and his head felt like the boy was burning up.

He had overheard Gwaine and Lancelot talking about the boy this morning during training, but now he knew they had been definitely right, there had been something wrong with the boy and it just had gotten worse. "Merlin, come on, I need you to wake up." Merlin's breaths were rapid and uneven and another look at the boy revealed he was even skinnier than normal; it seemed he hadn't been eating at all. He wasn't as close to Merlin as some of the other knights, but he should have noticed this.

Noticing he couldn't get any reaction from the boy he picked him up, once again he felt how light Merlin was. He had to get him to Gaius now. Frantically he almost ran down the stairs and through the corridors. He didn't notice the group of knights paling at the sight and hurrying after them. Leon burst into Gaius chambers, soon followed by Gwaine, Lancelot and Percival.

Gaius was just mixing the herbs Merlin had gathered that morning when Sir Leon burst into the room. At first Gaius got frustrated; couldn't he just work in peace for once? Then his eyes landed on his ward and instantly the frustration made place for worry.

"What happened?" He asked, while motioning Leon to lay Merlin down on the bed in the middle of the room.

"I don't know." Leon started. "One moment he was just standing there and the next he just fell down. Fortunately, I already held him, otherwise he would have fallen on the ground."

Gaius nodded and started searching through his potions. The group of knights awkwardly stood in the door opening, unsure what to do next. They all waited for Gaius' verdict.

"Is he going to be all right?" Gwaine asked, worry clearly present in his voice.

Gaius turned to the group off knights. "He seems to be utterly exhausted, severely dehydrated and also malnourished…" Tears glistened in his eyes.

"So, what does that mean?" Gwaine and the other knights dreaded the answer.

"I can't be sure yet. I've seen cases like this, but never this severe. I don't know how he could be working. He should have collapsed days ago…" Gaius turned back to the bed and put a wet cloth on his wards brow.

The knights stood motionless in the room. Lancelot was the first to speak. "He would never admit he needed a break. With the treaty and all going on. Arthur is stressed out and it's been clear the treaty is important. He would never leave Arthur in a time like this."

Gwaine growled. "He's too selfless for his own good. Why didn't we notice he needed a break. Hell, we're supposed to be knights, to protect people. We're his friends and we didn't see this coming. Look how skinny he looks. How did Arthur miss this of all people? He constantly is around him." Gwaine stormed out of the room.

"I better follow him, before he hurts anyone." Percival followed Gwaine and Leon immediately followed him.

Lancelot, the only knight left, approached Gaius and laid a hand on his shoulder. "Gaius, he used magic to keep going this long didn't he?"

Gaius looked up. "I'm afraid so. You were right, he wouldn't want to leave Arthur now. He must've ignored the signs and kept going at all costs. But I don't understand why he collapsed now. The treaty is this afternoon, with his magic he should've been able to hold out until then."

They sat in silence. Gaius seemed to forget Lancelot was even there and focused solely on Merlin. After a few minutes Lancelot left the chambers in search for the others.

"Oh my boy, what have you done? What happened to you?"

* * *

"Gwaine, wait up." Percival tried to catch up with Gwaine.

"Don't try to stop me, Percival. I'm not saying we're not to blame, on the contrary we should have noticed this, but Arthur more than anyone! He practically lives with Merlin."

Percival got hold of Gwaine and stopped him. Leon finally reached them too.

"I'm not trying to say he isn't to blame, but this week has been extremely important. Arthur has been under a lot of pressure." Leon tried to explain.

Gwaine suddenly turned around, growled and punched the wall.

"What the hell, Gwaine?" a voice suddenly sounded.

* * *

Arthur had been restless since the incident with Merlin. Truth was, he had been giving Merlin a lot of work and their usual banter hadn't been present this week. The treaty was just so important and everyone counted on him, he had to be serious. However, putting Merlin in the dungeon because he snapped at him had been a step to far. Merlin was always there for him and to be honest, he had neglected him this last week. And so he now was on his way to the dungeons. He wanted to apologize, but he wasn't sure how.

Why on earth had he sent the boy to the dungeon? Pride, a small voice whispered, he still hadn't quite learned to ignore his pride. Honestly he didn't know how to make amends with Merlin. Merlin was beyond loyal and the one time the boy snapped at him, Arthur immediately had sent him to the dungeon. He hated to admit it, but he had been a real jerk. He was growing a headache because of this internal battle with himself and that was not something he needed right before the treaty meeting.

He rounded another corner and saw some of his knights standing there. He was just about to say something, but then Gwaine suddenly turned around and punched the wall.

"What the hell, Gwaine?" Arthur shouted.

Leon turned and saw the King standing there. He grunted, great timing Arthur. Before he knew Gwaine had pushed him to the side and was running towards Arthur. Luckily Lancelot just rounded the corner too, quickly oversaw what was happening and got a hold of Gwaine just in time.

Arthur found himself confused for the second time that day. Did Gwaine just try to attack him?

"What is going on here?" He didn't have time for this. He needed to see Merlin and go to that treaty meeting. He was on the verge of telling Gwaine he would deal with him later and walk away, when Gwaine spoke up.

"What's going on?! You should know, you bastard. He could have died and you wouldn't even know!"

Arthur grew even more confused… and worried. Did someone die? Lancelot saw the obvious confusion and worry in his eyes and sighed.

"Okay, everybody to Arthurs chambers NOW." He said.

"Wait, Lancelot, I really don't have time for this now. I need to see… I need to go to that treaty meeting." He didn't want Gwaine to know he threw Merlin in the dungeon… OR Lancelot.

Gwaine was seething. "Make time."

And that's why they all quietly walked back to Arthurs chambers. Lancelot took care Gwaine was walking far away from Arthur and without further incidents they reached Arthurs chambers.

Arthur had been thinking and there was only one reason he knew Gwaine would attack him: Merlin. The knight must have found out he put Merlin in the dungeons. Sir Leon had been there so that must have been the reason Gwaine went all nuts on him. He just had to explain he had just been on his way to free Merlin and hopefully this whole drama could be put to rest until after the treaty meeting.

As soon as Percival had closed the door behind him, Arthur wanted to explain himself. However, Gwaine beat him to it as he finally got free from Lancelot's grip and punched Arthur in the face. Arthur fell back.

"Gwaine! Stop! It isn't all Arthurs fault; we should have seen it too." Lancelot pushed Gwaine back and Leon helped Arthur back on his feet.

Arthur didn't understand anything anymore and with his growing headache, the incident with Merlin and just the overall last week, he couldn't take this anymore.

"Can anyone PLEASE explain what the hell is happening here, because frankly I don't follow anymore! What should I have seen, what is my fault?" He exclaimed.

Gwaine, who was held back by Percival, was gritting his teeth. Percival decided to break the news to the King. "It's Merlin, he's…"

"If this is about me throwing him in the dungeons, I was just on my way to free…."

"You threw him in the dungeons!? Exclaimed Lancelot. Silently he wanted to punch his king in the face too. This had been the reason Merlin had given up, why he didn't let his magic help him anymore. He probably thought Arthur didn't want him around anymore and had just broken.

"You didn't know?" Arthur really wasn't following anymore.

"He just collapsed when I was talking to him." Leon explained. "We've taken him to Gaius, but Gaius doesn't know if he'll pull through, he was utterly exhausted, severely dehydrated and malnourished. Gaius was surprised he didn't collapse sooner, but…" Leon's voice trailed off, but Arthur could fill in the rest. But Merlin was too selfless and loyal for his own good and would put his own health on second place if Arthur needed him. Even though he hadn't said it out loud, Arthur knew Merlin could sense he had needed him. His face paled, utterly exhausted, severely dehydrated and malnourished. That sounded as something he should have noticed. For god's sake, he spend whole days with Merlin, he definitely should have noticed that.

Leon saw Arthur pale and slowly descend to the ground, he quickly led him to a chair. He knew Arthur highly respected Merlin, not that Arthur ever admitted it. Telling him this before the treaty meeting probably hadn't been their greatest plan for the kingdom.

Arthur's thought still whirled through his head and Arthur didn't like where they were going. Gaius had wondered why Merlin hadn't collapsed sooner and deep down Arthur knew the reason, but he didn't want it to be true. If his thoughts were true, not only hadn't he noticed how sick Merlin had been, he had pushed his friend over the edge. Gwaine was right, this was his fault. He let his head fall in his hands.

"I need to see him." He finally said.

"Like hell you are." Said Gwaine, who was a bit more calm, but not quite on the stage of forgiving. But Arthur had had enough, his friend, his best friend, was sick, partly because of him and he Needed. To. See. Him. Now.

"Don't pin this on me, Gwaine, you're to blame too. He's my friend and I need to see how he's doing." Arthur hissed.

"Nice friend you are, I'm quite sure this is the first time you openly call him your friend." Gwaine growled back.

"Gwaine. Stop." Lancelot tried to intervene.

Gwaine just glared one more time and ran out the chambers.

"Arthur, I'm sure he…" Leon started.

"Out."

"Arthur…"

"Get. Out. Now. All of you!" Arthur yelled.

They all glanced one more time and walked out of the room. Arthur sat in his chair. He never knew words could physically hurt, but Gwaine's did. Because they were right, he never called Merlin friend. He had assumed Merlin knew, but he never had had the courage to say it. What had he done? He had pushed him over the edge, hell; he had sent his best friend to the dungeons, just because he dared to speak up. Merlin had been exhausted and there he was rambling about more chores. Gwaine was right; he had no right to see Merlin now.

* * *

Gaius still pressed a wet cloth on Merlin's head.

"Merlin you have to keep fighting. I know you can overcome this, but I need you to fight."

He soaked the cloth again and pressed it to his ward's brow. But he couldn't do this anymore. He couldn't treat Merlin as just one of his patients, because the boy was so much more to him.

"Oh my boy, what happened? Why didn't you let us help you, why didn't you tell me you didn't have time to gather my herbs? I could've asked someone else. Why did you stop fighting Merlin? Everyone is worried sick about you and I can't tell them you'll be all right, because you seem to get worse. Just come back to us boy, we'll get you a long vacation. We'll…"

Lancelot was about to check on Merlin and Gaius, but as he stood in front of the door he heard Gaius break down. He quietly entered the room and sat beside Gaius.

"Gaius…" And Lancelot told Gaius what happened. "But Gaius, you should have seen the look on Arthurs face, he regrets it with all his heart."

Gaius sighed. "I know he does, I just think Merlin doesn't know that at the moment and I can't get him to fight his sickness. Lancelot, I'm losing him and I can't do a thing about it. I'm a physician and I can't cure him."

"I know Gaius, I know." Lancelot sighed.

* * *

Merlin felt sick. He looked around him and found he couldn't see a thing. He panicked. Was there a magical attack on Camelot? He tried to reach for his magic, but panicked even more as he found he couldn't.

"Trying to commit treason again, sorcerer?" A familiar voice spoke and Merlin's blood grew ice cold.

"Arthur, what's happening? I don't…."

"That's King Arthur for you. You betrayed me."

"No, I never wanted to… You were my friend… I…"

"We were never friends, don't you dare call me that. I don't know what you think happened these last few years, but you were my servant. Nothing more. Everybody knows that."

Tears formed in Merlin's eyes.

"I never want to see you again, sorcerer. You can stay in this black hole forever and no one will come to save you because no one cares about you. Not Lancelot, not Gwaine, not Gaius and not me. We're glad you're gone. Goodbye Sorcerer."

The tears fell.

"No, Arthur…" but he was alone again. Merlin sat down and cried. He had never felt as useless as now. They didn't need him anymore.


	2. My Friend (part 2)

**Wow, thanks so much for following my story! It is great to see some of you**

**like it :) **

**Here's part 2 of the first story, next is a prompt from natcel, little peek: Merlin is about to get his leg broken...  
**

**I'm hoping for more prompts! Please give me your ideas, they'll make me extremely happy :D**

**Oh almost forgot: I do NOT own Merlin (and I won't ever sadly enough, so this goes for the whole story)**

* * *

Gwen was worried. She had been at the treaty meeting and Arthur hadn't been there. He had been restless about the meeting all week and it wasn't like him to just miss it. She had stalled the meeting and was currently searching for Arthur. When she opened the door to his chambers she was greeted with a sight she didn't expect to see. Arthur sat on the floor. His back against the side of his bed and his head in his hands. He seemed to be… sobbing. Gwen had never seen him like this.

"Arthur?"

But the King didn't even acknowledge her presence. What had happened? Gwen sat down beside him.

"Arthur, you missed the treaty meeting. What happened?"

Beside her, Arthur finally came back into reality. He missed the meeting, the most important meeting in his whole reign and yet it didn't even seem to matter anymore. Didn't all the stress for this meeting cause Merlin's problems? Oh, if he just hadn't focused so much on it, maybe he would have noticed something about Merlin.

"It's all my fault…"

Gwen wanted to understand, she really did, but she couldn't.

"Arthur what happened? Tell me, please. I've stalled the meeting until tomorrow, but why didn't you attend?" Gwen asked with worry present in her voice.

Arthur looked at her and… broke down. "It's Merlin, he… he collapsed. He's sick, seriously sick, he hasn't been eating, drinking or sleeping for almost a week, Gaius can't tell if he's going to make it and it's my fault. I did that to him and I didn't even notice. I just gave him more chores and made him feel like he couldn't take a break. And, worst of all, when he finally gave in to his condition and snapped, I still didn't notice and sent him to the dungeons. He just gave up fighting the illness and now I don't know if he's ever going to wake up again. I don't know if I ever can tell him he's my friend."

Gwen was shocked. Tears glistened in her eyes. Merlin was sick, Merlin collapsed, Merlin might die….and Arthur blamed himself.

"We need to see him, Arthur." She said. Hoping Gaius had found a cure by this time.

"I can't. I did that to him, he doesn't want me there."

"Arthur, you don't seriously believe that, do you? You have to be there, for Merlin, he's always at you side, now it's your turn to return that favour."

"But…""Arthur hesitated, but Gwen wouldn't hear of it.

"We are going. Now." She hauled him back on his feet and together they walked to Gaius' chambers.

* * *

In the meantime, Gaius and Lancelot still sat quietly beside Merlin. Lancelot saw with his own eyes what Gaius had meant. He only was here a short time and Merlin looked worse now than when he had come in. They tried talking to him, telling him Arthur needed him, that they needed him, but Merlin was unresponsive to everything.

Lancelot had hoped Arthur would come by, but knew that after Gwaine's outburst that wouldn't be likely to happen. Although he partly agreed with Gwaine, Merlin never got the recognition he deserved from Arthur, he still thought Gwaine had made a mistake. Arthur did see Merlin as a friend and now he would probably blame himself and avoid Gaius' chambers. He didn't want to leave Merlin, but he had to persuade Arthur to visit. Just as he was about to stand up, Merlin stirred. He and Gaius were on high alert immediately. Merlin was muttering something and Lancelot came closer to hear what the boy said. What he heard made his blood run cold.

"Arthur, what's happening? I don't…."

"No, I never wanted to… You were my friend… I…

"No, Arthur…"

Lancelot only heard one side of the conversation, but he didn't like what he heard. To make matters worse he saw tears falling out of Merlin's unconscious eyes.

"Merlin, whatever you're seeing or hearing, it's not real. You have to fight it, we're all here. We all want you back." But whatever Lancelot said, Merlin didn't notice him. He started curling up and the sobs became more frequent.

Gaius watched in fear. His boy, his surrogate son, was giving up. Not even Lancelot's word seemed to sink in. One split moment Gaius absolutely loathed Arthur, but the feeling soon subdued. The King was Merlin's friend and although he had crossed a line, he wasn't the one to blame for all of this. He didn't know how to help Merlin, but he knew someone who might.

"Lancelot, I need you to stay with Merlin, just try to keep him cool. I will be right back, but I have to do something. I have to ask someone for help."

Lancelot watched Gaius with fear and hope. Gaius wouldn't leave Merlin if it wasn't absolutely necessary, but Gaius was the best physician there was. What was he planning on doing? Who was he going to see? Someone with magic? He nodded, whatever it was, he would watch over his friend.

* * *

Gaius didn't know exactly where to go, but he had to try. So he stood in an opening in the forest and tried to communicate through his mind.

"Please, I need your help. Merlin needs your help. He is dying and I have no clue what to do about it."

Nothing even stirred and Gaius sighed, he had hoped with all his heart this would work, but deep down he had known he never could've summoned the Great Dragon.

"Stay where you are, I'm on my way." He suddenly heard. He couldn't believe it, the Dragon had heard him. A spark of hope lighted his mind. Not long after, the Dragon landed on the opening.

"I sensed his distress, but couldn't feel what was wrong. Tell me everything, Gaius."

Gaius still was impressed with the appearance of the Dragon, but he shook himself back to reality and he told the Dragon everything that happened. The story exhausted him and with eyes filled with hope he waited for a response. The Dragon sighed.

"The story you bring to my hearing is a grave one, old friend. The young warlock is sick, but that is not my main concern, he would be able to fight off the sickness. His spirit is broken; he thinks he no longer is wanted in this world, so why would he stay. The person he respects the most, his friend and destiny, has let him fall. I can't cure him Gaius, and neither can you. The only one who has a chance of saving him now is the young King and even that might not work. From what I hear, he is in a dark place and he has visions of things that never even happened. Even if the King comes through to him, he might reject his words or disbelieve them. I'm sorry, Gaius, I can't help any more than you can."

Gaius thought he saw grief in the Dragon's eyes, but before he could be sure the beast flew away. Leaving a grieving Gaius behind. The King hadn't even visited Merlin, let alone he would comfort him back into this world.

* * *

Lancelot switched the cloth for a new one. He still talked to Merlin, even though all the boy did was cry silent tears. When Gaius would return he would get Arthur, maybe he could get through to Merlin.

Suddenly the door opened and Lancelot watched, hoping it would be Gaius.

"Guinevere…" The queen entered with eyes full of worry.

"How is he, Lancelot?" she asked, but she could see how sick Merlin looked. She saw the tears glistening on his cheeks and immediately her own eyes became watery.

"Nothing changed, if anything he's becoming worse." Lancelot whispered.

Gwen took a seat beside him and grabbed Merlin's hand.

"Merlin, you have to become better, we… I need you here." She silently said, but she didn't get a response. Her tears fell and Lancelot tried to comfort her.

"He'll get better, Gwen, you know how stubborn he can be. He couldn't leave Arthur even if he wanted to." He didn't believe his own words; Merlin was leaving Arthur, because he felt Arthur had left him.

The door opened again and Lancelot looked back.

"Gaius… any luck?" he asked hopefully.

"No." One word, the tone Gaius uttered it spoke more than thousand words. Merlin was on his own, no one could help him.

"The only one who has a small chance to get him back now is Arthur." Lancelot looked up; he hadn't expected Gaius to speak up again.

"Then we've got to make him come over here, make him talk to Merlin…" He started to stand up, but Gwen stopped him, new tears glistened in her eyes.

"I tried, he's blaming himself. He can't even bring himself to go here. He's afraid it will do Merlin no good, he knows he's the reason Merlin has stopped fighting and he doesn't want to hurt him more."

"But Merlin needs him here! He can't just hide away in his chambers, without him Merlin will…" Die, but he couldn't utter that word, not yet.

The door flew open.

"So, Arthur is the one that can save Merlin. He's the only one?" Gwaine asked. Lancelot glanced to Gaius, if they told Gwaine he would personally drag Arthur to this chamber. Unfortunately, Gwen spoke up.

"It seems that way. He has to repair his damage." She said softly. Before Lancelot could utter another word, Gwaine had stormed out of the room.

* * *

"Gwaine! Wait!" Lancelot jumped from his spot and ran after the knight. Gwaine ran to the chambers of Arthur and stormed inside. Lancelot just made it in time to see him pushing Arthur from his chair and jumped between the two.

"Gwaine, stop it!"

"I won't stop it, he has to go and save Merlin NOW. Merlin is giving up because of him and he is the only one to bring him back to us." Gwaine yelled, then he eyed Arthur. "If you don't go to him now and save him, I will never want to see you face again. I will leave this godforsaken city and never ever return. But not after I've seriously injured a certain King."

"I thought you didn't want me near Merlin and now you're forcing me to go see him." Arthur yelled back.

"Shut up! Both of you!" Lancelot interfered. "Sit down and listen. Arthur, Merlin is giving up, he can beat the sickness, but he seems to not even want that. You can't even comprehend the respect he feels for you and you disposed of him the minute you didn't like what he told you. He always had faith in you, no matter what and now you crushed that believe. Not on purpose, I know that. I know you see him as a friend, but right now Merlin doesn't know that and he's giving up everything. You're the only one who has a chance to bring him back and even that change is slim. He has had some kind of nightmare, where you turned him down and since then he's getting worse by the minute. He might not even want to hear what you've got to say to him, but it's the only chance we have of getting him back."

Lancelot had seen Arthur's face grow paler during his little speech, he saw the massive guilt build up in his eyes and the fear of losing his friend, but right now he didn't care. He couldn't, he had to do one thing at a time and right now his focus lay with Merlin.

Luckily, Arthur focus was back on Merlin too. After he heard about how Merlin was doing he felt massively guilty, but Lancelot was right. Right now he had to try and get Merlin back and that was the only thing that mattered. So he almost ran out of his room towards Gaius' chambers, closely followed by both Lancelot and Gwaine. He stopped just in front of the door. He highly doubted himself, but one look from Gwaine and he remembered why he had to go through with this. Merlin was his friend and he wanted him to know that. And with that thought in mind, he opened the door.

* * *

Gaius heard the door opening, but didn't really watch who came in. His focus was on his ward before him. Then he felt Gwen's hand on his arm and he watched up to see Arthur. The King stood awkwardly before him and Gaius could see he expected him to be mad for what he had done to Merlin. In a way Gaius was mad, but right now he was relieved the King had come to visit Merlin. He gave Arthur a short nod and followed the knights and Gwen outside. This was something Arthur had to do on his own and Gaius prayed it would turn out right for Merlin.

Arthur stood on his own in Gaius' chambers, he felt uncomfortable, but he pushed that thought to the side and sat down beside Merlin. He looked at him and immediately understood everyone's worry. You couldn't even describe how ill Merlin looked and on top of that he looked sad. Arthur could see the dried tears on his cheeks and he knew he had been the cause of them. He inhaled deeply.

"Merlin, I…" But as soon as he spoke the boy started to struggle with his sheets.

"I'm sorry Arthur, I never wanted to betray you, I wanted to protect you." Arthur's heart nearly broke at the words Merlin muttered out between sobs.

"Merlin, you didn't betray me, if anything, I betrayed you." Merlin still kept muttering apologies and Arthur grabbed his hand.

"Merlin, please listen to me, I never wanted this to happen. We… I should have seen you were sick, but I didn't and I've never felt so guilty in my entire life." But the words didn't seem to be registered by Merlin as the boy started to shake badly and sob harder. Arthur tried to hold him still and his eyes became watery as he found out he couldn't. The tighter he would grab Merlin's arms the more he started to shake.

"Merlin, Please fight this, I'm not going to hurt you, you have to come back and I promise you nothing bad will happen to you again, I'm going to protect you, Merlin. I never should have ordered you to be taken to the dungeons and I'm sorry. I… I know I've never said this out loud, but you're my friend Merlin, I mean it, you're the only one who keeps me down to earth, who doesn't treat me like a King and I need that. I need a normal friend, someone who isn't pretending to like me, just because I'm King."

Arthur didn't even notice how Merlin's struggles weakened. "I'm so sorry Merlin and I can't lose you, I would never forgive myself for pushing you over the edge. We all need you around, but I need you more than anyone, without you I would've never come this far. You're my friend Merlin and my dearest advisor, I would trust you with my life and now it seems it is my fault your life is miserable. I'm so sorry, Merlin, please come back so I can make it up to you."

Merlin didn't struggle anymore and Arthur breathed heavenly. He didn't know what to say anymore. If only he had said this earlier, Merlin wouldn't be in this mess if he had. He said beside his friend for more than an hour, but he didn't notice any change. He liked to think Merlin looked more peaceful, but he knew that was just wishful thinking. When Gaius came back, Arthur left without a word. He retreated himself to his chambers and didn't let anyone in. Not even Gwen knew how he was doing.

* * *

"Merlin, I…" Merlin looked up, he heard Arthur, but he didn't see him, he still only saw the black surrounding him.

"I'm sorry Arthur, I never wanted to betray you, I wanted to protect you." He quickly said. He didn't hear anything. His mind was playing tricks on him now.

"Merlin, you didn't betray me, if anything, I betrayed you." Merlin was confused; this must be some kind of trap.

"I'm sorry Arthur, I really am."

"Merlin, please listen to me, I never wanted this to happen. We… I should have seen you were sick, but I didn't and I've never felt so guilty in my entire life." Sick? He wasn't sick, he was going crazy. This Arthur wasn't real he frantically started to look around him, he began to ran through the space, but he didn't see anything. He cried, why didn't he know what was happening to him. It felt like someone was grabbing him and he panicked, he tried to release himself, but he couldn't.

"…but you're my friend Merlin, I mean it..." Merlin stopped struggling. Had Arthur just called him friend? This had to be some game, Arthur had just told him he never wanted to see him again and now he was calling him friend. Something was going on here and he had to find out what. Which Arthur was real? He surely hoped the second, but why couldn't he see him? Merlin started to focus on getting out of the place he was in. He had to find out what was really happening around him.

* * *

It wasn't obvious, but Gaius began to see small signs Merlin was growing stronger. At first he told himself he was seeing things. Imagining things to make him feel better, but he wasn't the only one who noticed. Slowly it became clear Merlin was fighting again and though it went at a slow place, he improved day by day. Gwen tried to persuade Arthur to get out of his chambers and see for himself, but he still wouldn't show himself. He thought Gwen only wanted to make him feel better.

It had been 4 days since the whole incident had happened and Gaius was preparing a new potion to give to Merlin, after all, he still had to get some nutrients inside of the boy to fight of the malnourishing. With the potion in his hand he walked towards the bed. He looked at his ward and found himself staring into a pair of blue eyes.

"Merlin! You're awake!" He put the potion down and immediately sat beside the bed. Merlin's eyes seemed unfocused, but they were definitely open. Slowly they shut again, but Gaius was thrilled, Merlin had opened his eyes once and he was sure it would happen again. He slowly started to feed him the potion he prepared.

"Just keep fighting, my boy, you're getting there."

* * *

Merlin's black hole was getting brighter and suddenly he found himself somewhere else. He slowly looked around, his head felt like lead. He knew these chambers. He tried to focus and could make out three figures before him. He recognized them. Would his nightmare finally stop? Or were they here to take him to the dungeons and lock him up.

"…" He tried to say something but couldn't find his voice, why was he feeling so tired?

"Don't try to speak, Merlin. It will take a bit of time before you can do that again." Gaius said.

So they had come to take him away. They had probably knocked him out or something and… he started to shake, he couldn't believe this was happening.

"Easy Merlin. You're going to be all right. We'll make sure of that. Just stay calm and focus on getting better." Gwaine said.

Merlin didn't understand. They didn't want to hurt him and take him away? If only he could remember how he had gotten here. He had to know.

"Wh... ppened?" He choked out. He immediately felt immensely tired.

"Take it slow; you don't want to hurt yourself anymore. You collapsed. You had worked yourself to the ground, Merlin, and on top of that you didn't eat, drink or sleep enough. You're lucky for pulling through. Don't try such a stunt again." Lancelot explained briefly.

Merlin searched his mind. Had he really done that?

"Drink this." Gaius slowly helped Merlin to drink a new potion. Slowly afterwards he fell in a deep dreamless sleep.

* * *

Lancelot couldn't believe it, Merlin had been awake. He had even tried to speak. To say he was thrilled was an understatement; barely 5 days ago he had been on the verge of dying! Now Merlin wasn't as bad as he had been, Lancelot took notice of another problem. The King. No one had seen him since he had talked to Merlin, but why would the King lock himself up, if the talk had been so effective? He was pulled out of his thoughts by a groan. Merlin was waking up again. Gwaine had gone to inform the rest of the knights and Gwen about Merlin, so maybe now he could give Merlin some more answers.

"My head is killing me." The fragile looking boy said.

"I think your head will be hurting some more the next days, but we're all glad it isn't actually killing you anymore. You gave us quite a scare, Merlin. Why didn't you tell us something was wrong?" Lancelot asked as Gaius just looked at Merlin.

"I'm still not sure what happened." Merlin whispered.

"What do you remember?" Gaius asked.

"I'm not sure… there was something important going on and I had to be there, but Arthur send me away? I don't know exactly… Then I found myself in this dark room, I couldn't even see the walls… Arthur was there, he…" Merlin fell quiet and grew pale. "Oh god, he knows! He knows I have magic!"

"Merlin, calm down, Arthur does not know about your secret, continue your story, what do you remember?" Gaius pushed. Merlin looked confused.

"I was alone again in the room, but then Arthur came back. This time I couldn't see him, I only heard him…" Merlin grew even more confused as he remembered more. "He… He was saying sorry to me, I don't know what for though? I wanted out of the room and the next thing I know I'm here talking to you… What did happen?" Merlin looked hopeful to Lancelot and Gaius, maybe they could explain what really happened.

"There was an important treaty meeting, you worked way too hard and didn't sleep, eat or drink enough, Merlin." Lancelot started. "At one point you even began using magic to keep you on your feet."

Merlin began to remember.

"You and Arthur had a falling out, nothing too serious, you just were agitated. Arthur didn't think before he did and he made Leon take you to the dungeons to calm down, but you just collapsed. It was as if your magic just had stopped working." Lancelot looked at Merlin, but he avoided his glance. Merlin remembered. Arthur hadn't wanted him anymore and he had fallen down.

Lancelot, afraid he was losing Merlin again, hurried on. "You were brought to Gaius and he tried his best to fix you up, we all were worried about you Merlin. Gwaine even attacked Arthur when he found out what he did. Arthur really regretted what he'd done, Merlin. He came to visit you and apologized. That's the voice you were hearing. The Arthur you saw was a hallucination."

Merlin smiled slightly, but somewhere there still lingered a bit of mistrust towards the King.

"It took some time, but after Arthur had talked to you, you seemed to get better and now you're here."

Merlin had grown tired again. "Thanks for explaining, Lancelot and thank Gwaine for me, I wish I could have seen it…" Slowly his eyes closed again and soon he was vast asleep.

Lancelot gave Gaius a worried glare. "He doesn't trust Arthur anymore, does he?"

Gaius looked at the sleeping Merlin. "I think therefore he has to talk to Arthur again. It's something they have to figure out, we can't do anything about it, but Arthur's apology brought him back to this world and that's in my eyes a good sign.

* * *

Arthur was agitated and that was the light way of putting it. The whole day people had been urging him to come out of his room. First Gwen, than Leon, Lancelot, even Gwaine had tried. Why couldn't they just let him be? He didn't need them to look at him with absolute disgust and he certainly didn't need another punch in the face from Gwaine. He hated himself more than enough, thank you very much. And with that thought he fell back on his bed. All he could think the last few days about had been Merlin and how he had pushed him away. Even his voice scared the boy, how could he ever forgive himself again.

Knock, knock.

Arthur looked up and sighed, he really began to get frustrated right now. He could guess who it was, probably Gwen, the knocks would have been a bit louder if it was one of his knights.

Knock, knock.

Strange, this time the knocks were even more quiet. Anyway, he wasn't in the mood to see someone now.

Knock, knock.

"_Get out!_" Arthur yelled. He had had enough, he would show the person in front of that door he didn't want to be disturbed and hopefully no one would come to his chambers for a while. Angrily he walked towards the door.

"_I don't want you here, I can cope perfectly fine on my own and I'm not coming out of my chambers!_" He screamed out, then he opened his door and saw the person who stood before him… His face paled, not good Arthur, you really are a prat.

* * *

It took some time, but Merlin was fully awake now. He still felt weak, but he wasn't as tired anymore. Gaius even had left him alone for some time now. Merlin sighed, how much he loved the man, but he wasn't three anymore. He could be alone for an hour or so. Then his thoughts lingered back to Arthur. He heard the story from Lancelot and he remembered most of it himself, but why had Arthur locked himself away? And then there was that little voice inside of him that told him Arthur hated him. And that hurt. There was only one way to get peace of mind and that was to talk to Arthur.

Merlin sneaked out of his room, he was lucky he was trained to be quiet, because ever since the knights found out he was awake, there had been one of them lingering at Gaius chambers. Slowly he made his way over to Arthur's chambers. However, when he stood before the doors he grew unsure, had this been a good idea? He knocked twice, soft, as if he didn't want Arthur to notice. When he got no response he tried again. Still no answer, maybe he should just leave, but something told him not to. He knocked again.

"_Get out!_" He heard Arthur yell, maybe this hadn't been such a good idea after all. Arthur wasn't in a particular good mood, but he couldn't turn back now, he already heard Arthur walk towards the door. He grew afraid, it felt strange, he never had been afraid of Arthur, but his body seemed to scream to run away.

"_I don't want you here, I can cope perfectly fine on my own and I'm not coming out of my chambers!_"

Okay, maybe his body was right, Arthur definitely terrified him right now. He just wanted to turn around and run away as the door opened. One second he stared into Arthur's eyes, which were filled by anger. That was all it took for him to run away. Arthur did hate him, his feeling had been right and he had to get out of here right now.

"Merlin wait!" Arthur yelled, but Merlin didn't stop, Lancelot had been wrong, Arthur did not regret anything he had done to him and if he stopped, Arthur would probably hurt him even more. He looked up and saw he had arrived at the battlements again, this was wrong, he didn't want to be here, there was only one way out and he already heard Arthur running up the stairs. Merlin staggered forwards, he had to find a place to hide and he had to find it quick.

* * *

Arthur inwardly cursed himself, he had meant to scare the person who was disturbing him and he definitely did that, great work King, you've scared Merlin even more. Why had he even been here, he surely would've heard if Merlin had become better. Then he remembered Gwaine telling him… he just hadn't believed him.

"Merlin wait!" He wanted to stop the boy, but all he accomplished was for Merlin to start running even faster. Without a second thought he sprinted after him, he had to apologize to Merlin, again. Gwaine had been right, what kind of friend was he if he constantly scared Merlin to death. He found himself at the battlements, Merlin had to be here, there was only one way out and that was the door he was currently closing.

"Merlin?" He tried to sound as calm as possible, but nothing stirred. Great, Merlin was so terrified he hid from him.

"Merlin, please, I didn't mean to scare you, I didn't think it was you who knocked on my door." Still nothing.

Arthur doubted what to do next, Merlin clearly didn't want to be found, but if he left chances were he never got on the right foot with Merlin again. Suddenly he heard a sob, it was soft and clearly held back, but now he knew where Merlin was. The boy was so afraid, he had hid and he was crying. Would it really be for the best to confront him now?

* * *

Merlin held his breath, what if Arthur had heard that. He was still shaking and scared, but somewhere there grew a feeling Arthur wasn't as bad as he thought. Could he be sincere? Could he really care? But Merlin still doubted him.

"Merlin, I'm really sorry what happened. I should've noticed you weren't feeling well and I didn't. I know you're always there for me and I took you for granted, but I truly see you as… as my friend, Merlin. I know I don't act the part, but I definitely appreciate you being there with me."

Merlin's curiosity won it from his fear and he slowly stood up. Arthur watched him closely and Merlin could tell he had known where he had been hiding. Yet he didn't come any closer. Merlin looked at him and saw the guilt written on his face. Lancelot had been right after all, Arthur didn't hate him. Slowly he walked towards him. Then Arthur moved, a hot of fear crept up, but he kept walking towards him and suddenly he found himself in a hug. That was the final straw and he broke down. Arthur really did care and he had doubted him.

"I'm sorry, Arthur, I'm so sorry." He choked out between sobs.

* * *

Arthur held Merlin close to him, he finally had gotten his friend back and he wasn't going to let him down again. Then he heard Merlin apologize and once again his heart broke. He pushed Merlin away from him to look him in the eyes.

"Don't. Apologize. You have nothing to be sorry for, I've been a prat and because of that we nearly lost you. Don't you dare apologize, because if anyone is innocent in this whole matter it is you. I'm sorry I pushed you away and I'm sorry I terrified you, that's my fault, not yours. Definitely not yours. Understood?"

As Merlin nodded, he hugged him again. Never would he hurt his friend again, he would make sure of that.

* * *

Gaius was worried, where was Merlin? He wasn't healed fully yet and still he managed to sneak off. He was about to ask Lancelot if he knew where Merlin was, as his door opened.

Merlin came in, followed by Arthur and they both smiled. Merlin's red rimmed eyes told him something happened between the tow, but the smile that was present in his eyes told him it had worked out just fine. Gaius smiled, maybe this whole incident had brought the two even closer, after all, Arthur now knew how precious friends could be.

* * *

**The end**

**Next up: a prompt given to me by Natcel (Thanks so much for your review and prompt!)**

**Reviews are massively appreciated!**


	3. A Broken Leg

**Shameful peaks around corner... Hi guys, I'm back (a)**

**So sorry for the long wait, hopefully some HurtMerlin can make you happy with me again :D**

**Prompts still welcome! I promise to try and get updates more often.**

* * *

_A Broken Leg (part 1)_

Merlin's eyes shot open; someone was grabbing him and dragging him away from the campsite. He tried to make a sound to alert Arthur, but the person behind him had clamped his hand over Merlin's mouth. He felt his magic rising up inside him, preparing to get himself free.

"Stop struggling, _Mer_lin, and be quiet." A familiar voice spoke.

Merlin urged his magic back and stopped fighting his attacker, who was now releasing him from his grip.

"What the hell Arthur?" Then he saw the serious look on the Kings face. "What's happening?"

Arthur held a finger to his mouth to indicate Merlin should shut up and Merlin complied. Behind some fallen trees Arthur crouched down and Merlin did the same. Arthur suspiciously eyed something near the camp, but Merlin couldn't find anything out of place. He gave Arthur a questioning look, but Arthur did not respond in any way, he just kept focusing on something Merlin couldn't see. Cautious they waited until something happened.

Suddenly a loud explosion could be heard and their campsite lit up in such a bright light Merlin had to avert his eyes. Arthur pulled him behind the trees and gave him a warning look not to make any sound. Merlin's heart was beating in his chest. This was supposed to be a simple hunting trip, nothing to worry about. Now their campsite had exploded and he hadn't even seen it coming. He heard men walking around the campsite, where were the other knights? Lancelot, Gwaine, Percival, Elyan and even Sir Leon were nowhere to be seen. A loud thud howled him out of his thoughts as Arthur pulled him up.

"Run! Go!" the King yelled, the thud had been an arrow, which was now imbedded in the tree they had been hiding behind. And so they ran. Merlin heard Arthur behind him, but he also heard other people following them and he betted it weren't the knights of Camelot. Suddenly Merlin found himself at the edge of a deep abyss. He twirled around, but the bandits already had caught up with them.

* * *

Arthur opened his eyes. He sat up straight. It still was the middle of the night, what had woken him? He was about to turn over and sleep some more, when he noticed Sir Leon and Percival had woken up too. They silently stared at each other. Then it hit him. The smell. A pungent odor hung in the air and it didn't smell good. They had to leave their campsite quick; someone was trying to kill them! With hand signals he made clear what to do and as Sir Leon and Percival silently woke Gwaine and Lancelot, he crawled over to Merlin. Then he heard them, there were several people hiding around their camp. He had to get him and Merlin out of here and he had to do it quietly and quick.

He pulled Merlin up and clamped his hand over his servant's mouth. The boy startled awake and immediately started to struggle against Arthur.

"Stop struggling, _Mer_lin, and be quiet." He quickly whispered, whilst letting him go.

Merlin turned around and indignantly eyed Arthur. "What the hell Arthur?" Arthur gave him a look, which he hoped would indicate Merlin was supposed to shut up. "What's happening?" So far his luck. He made a gesture to shut Merlin up and quietly walked towards a group of fallen trees. He hoped the bandits didn't see them there and he could still keep an eye on their campsite. Merlin crouched down beside him and together they watched. Merlin seemed confused, but now was not the time for Arthur to explain.

Suddenly a loud explosion was heard. Immediately Arthur pulled Merlin down next to him, he wasn't about to let him get hurt. He felt how Merlin tensed and he just hoped the bandits would take what they wanted and leave. This was supposed to be a simple trip, not some dangerous quest. He heard the release of an arrow and not a second later he felt the arrow bury itself in the tree he and Merlin were hiding behind. His warrior and protective instincts immediately kicked in as he pushed Merlin up. The boy had to get as far away from this as possible.

"Run! Go!" He yelled, after which he followed Merlin. They ran as fast away from the campsite as they could, but suddenly Arthur saw Merlin stop. When he saw why he silently cursed. Couldn't go anything to their advantage. He put himself in between of Merlin and the pursuing bandits, who slowly formed half a circle around the two of them. Arthur drew his sword, he wouldn't let them get past him to get to Merlin, his servant couldn't even hold a sword, let alone protect himself.

"Well, well, well, it seems we finally meet, Arthur Pendragon." One of the bandits stepped forward.

Arthur grabbed his sword tighter, these weren't just any bandits, they were after him and probably Camelot too. Before he could answer the bandits attacked, but before they could reach him their leader screamed.

"Stop! He's mine." He slowly advanced on Arthur, sword ready in his hand. Arthur repositioned himself in front of Merlin, an evil smile grew on the face of the bandit leader and suddenly he jumped forwards. Arthur raised his sword and suddenly found himself eye to eye with the man, only their swords in between them. He bend forwards and whispered in Arthur's ear.

"You seem very protective of that servant of yours. It would be such a shame if something bad happened to him, wouldn't it?" and before Arthur could properly process his words he got shoved back. He felt himself bumping into something and then he heard something he never wanted to hear; Merlin screamed.

* * *

The bandits slowly encircled them and Arthur stepped in front of him. Merlin sighed inwardly; Arthur really underestimated him sometimes, although it was nice to know he actually cared about his safety.

"Well, well, well, it seems we finally meet, Arthur Pendragon." He heard one of the bandits say. Great, this wasn't some stupid bunch of bandits; they actually knew whom they were dealing with and probably targeted Camelot as well. His magic was itching to protect Arthur as the bandits approached, but if he would do something now, Arthur would surely know. He just had to wait for the chaos of a fight and then he could jump in to help Arthur, but before the fight started it was put on hold.

"Stop! He's mine." Merlin grunted, really? Another personal attack on Arthur? He had to just use low profile magic and hopefully they would get out of this mess without too much trouble.

The bandit and Arthur's swords clashed and Merlin closely eyed them. The bandit was speaking to Arthur, but it was too quiet for Merlin to hear. He tried to focus and did a small pace forward, but before he knew it Arthur was pushed backwards. It went too fast for Merlin to step out of the way and they crashed into each other. The momentum caused Merlin to fall backwards and he threw his hands behind him to break his fall. His eyes widened when he didn't feel the ground, then he remembered the abyss and he screamed.

"Merlin!" He heard Arthur scream his name, but before he could fully register what was happening, he landed on the ground. Hearing Arthur calling his name again was the last thing he heard, before his world blacked out.

* * *

"Merlin! No!...You bastard!" Arthur pushed himself up and charged towards the bandit, but the other ones quickly approached him and pressed him to the ground. Their leader bended over him and looked him in the eyes, a big grin appearing on his face.

"Take him, but be gently, he is a royal after all." He said mockingly.

Arthur was hauled on his feet and his hands were bind together behind his back. The bandits put a rope around his neck and pulled at it to make him move. Struggling was useless; he'd only hurt himself more. Then it hit him full square what had happened, Merlin had fell 15 meters down and he didn't even know if his friend was still alive. He restarted his struggles, but the bandit leader wouldn't have any of it. With a hard punch in the face, Arthur was rendered unconscious.

* * *

"It's a dead end, Gwaine. They must have turn around here when they saw the abyss. Go look for new tracks." Sir Leon stated the facts monotone, but silently he was cursing. They had been looking for the King and Merlin for a long time now and he was starting to grow worried, they should have found each other already.

"Merlin! Oh god, guys come here." Sir Leon was startled out of his thoughts by a terrified scream from Lancelot who was standing near the edge of the abyss. Gwaine, immediately on high alert when he heard the worry in Lancelot's voice, was next to him in mere seconds. As he looked over the edge his heart stopped for a second. 15 meters down lay Merlin, unmoving, his leg in an odd angle.

Immediately he started to search for a route down. The only thing on his mind the image of Merlin falling down 15 meters and he didn't like it one bit. How the hell had this happened? Then his eyes landed on a less steep part of hill on the other side of the abyss, through there they could go down and help Merlin. If he wasn't dead already, but Gwaine immediately pushed that thought to the back of his mind. Merlin was not dead. Not if he had anything to say about it. Without a word he started to head towards the other side of the abyss and he heard the other knights following him.

* * *

Slowly Merlin came to his senses and it wasn't pleasant, everything seemed to hurt. He tried to open his eyes, but couldn't. He grunted and tried to move, but a sharp pain shot up his leg. Immediately he stopped his movement and gasped. What had happened? Why couldn't he open his eyes or move his leg?

"Merlin?" He heard someone say. The voice seemed familiar, but he couldn't concentrate enough to match it with a face or name. Instead he tried to answer, but it seemed like an impossible task.

"Guys, he's starting to wake!" He heard the same voice yell. So there were more people here.

"Merlin, I know everything hurts, but I need to ask: Do you know where Arthur is?" Another familiar voice spoke and Merlin tried with all his might to open his eyes. It worked, his vision was somewhat blurry, but at least he could make out 4 figures surrounding him. His eyes landed on a red and gold cloak and the memory hit him instantly. Arthur! The bandits! They fought. He…Oh god, he had fell down the abyss.

"Merlin! Merlin… calm down, just lie still, you're going to be all right. We're going to take you back to Camelot and Gaius can fix your leg, but for now we need to know where Arthur is." He recognized the voice now, Lancelot. He slowly breathed in and out. He tried to tell them about what happened, but the words still couldn't find their way out.

"Oke, Merlin, just keep calm, don't try to speak. I'm going to ask you questions and you can answer by nodding or shaking your head." Lancelot told him. Merlin nodded to indicate he had understood.

"Is Arthur somewhere nearby?" Merlin slowly started to shake his head, but then he stopped. He didn't know what had happened to Arthur. He didn't know what happened after he had fell. He remembered Arthur screaming his name. What if the bandits had taken him? That would be his fault, if Arthur hadn't got distracted because he fell…

"Merlin, breathe!" Lancelot once again tried to calm him down, but Merlin didn't acknowledge him this time.

"…Bandits…" he managed to croak out. Because of his panicking his leg hit a rock and another wave of pain shot up his leg. His vision started to blur out again, but he had to tell Lancelot and the other knights to go save Arthur.

"…You…save Arthur…I…" Merlin couldn't focus anymore and his vision totally went black. He only could hope the knights could save Arthur.


	4. A Broken Leg (part 2)

***Is so ashamed of herself right now* Serieusly, I'm so sorry for not updating! Life has been so hectic, I moved (still don't have a proper bed) and started another study and to be fair Merlin was one of my lower priorities... How could I? **

**So a MAJOR shout out for everyone who stuck by me, reviewed, followed, favorited or showed me support in any other way! I do love you and I love when I get a message to say I got a new follower or especially a new review! **

**To make amends I hereby solomnly swear to put up another chapter in the upcoming days.**

**Enjoy the second half of this story for now, I tried to make it a bit longer since I finally felt inspired:**

-Rosie-

Gwaine screamed, or rather roared. Merlin had fell unconscious again and it was obvious his leg was badly broken. And if that wasn't enough they sat in an abyss, how were they supposed to get Merlin out of here without hurting him more. It was impossible, his leg was completely broken and if they startled it more it would not end well. Than his mind wandered to what Merlin had said. Bandits. They did this. If Gwaine found them, they were going to regret throwing Merlin down.

'Elyan, I need you to ride back to Camelot and get Gaius, we can't carry Merlin back with us.' Leon spoke up. 'Lancelot and Percival can stay here, but the rest of us has to find the bandits and Arthur.'

'I'm staying here.' Gwaine responded, he was not about to leave his friend. As a knight he was loyal to Arthur, but if it hadn't been for Merlin, he wouldn't have been a knight at all. Leon was about to react, when Lancelot stepped forward.

'Gwaine, try an calm down, pacing through this abyss isn't going to help anyone.' Lancelot tried to reason.

'How can you be so calm?! Our friend was just thrown down an abyss!' Gwaine responded.

'Gwaine! Calm. Down. You're right, and all we can do for him now is send for Gaius. However, in the meanwhile you can try and help a friend who will actually benefit from your presence. Merlin told us to go and save Arthur and you know that if he would be conscious right now, he would go after Arthur immediately. He needs you to do that for him now. We can't do anything for Merlin now, but we can help our king.' Lancelot said while standing in front of Gwaine, looking him directly in the eyes. Gwaine suddenly saw the perks of going after Arthur: when he would see the bastards of bandits that had put them in this situation… He looked back at Lancelot and gave a nod. He would make sure they could hurt no one ever again.

Elyan already was climbing back to the horses and Leon and Gwaine followed him. Not much later Lancelot and Percival were alone with an unconscious Merlin.

'We need to collect wood. It will be dark before Elyan can return with Gaius and we'll need a fire.' Lancelot stated. Percival nodded and climbed back up to the woods to collect the wood and get their other supplies.

* * *

When Arthur finally awoke his head hurt like hell. When trying to move he found out he was tight very tightly to a tree. It was evident his bonds wouldn't bulge. Not that that stopped him from trying.

'You do realize you will never get out of that bonds do you not?' He suddenly heard a voice say. The bandit leader stepped in his view and grinned. 'Although I would have to admit, I would be disappointed if you didn't try.'

'When my knights find us, you will regret your actions. What do you even want with me?' Arthur stopped struggling and figured he could at least figure out why these bandits had attacked them. Thinking back to the attack Arthur felt his anger rise again. God he hoped the knights had found Merlin. Alive. But he didn't dare think Merlin wouldn't be alright. He just focused his thoughts to something else.

'Well, Arthur, there is a rumor I heard a few weeks back that sparked my interest in you. You see, we're not actually after you, you're just the mean to our goal.'

'Stop talking in riddles! Either tell me or don't, but don't give me this.' Arthur was seething. He wasn't their goal? What was this guy trying to say?

'Let me spell it out for you. We're not actually after you, Arthur Pendragon. You're the bait. There is a rumor going round about a magical protector of some sorts and some way or the other he protects you, the very man who prosecutes his own kind. I want this protector. I want his power for myself and the best way to catch him is to catch the man he is protecting. I just hope for your sake, the rumor is true, otherwise you'll have to do as our prize.'

Arthur couldn't believe it. These bandits actually thought he, Arthur Pendragon, had a magical fairy godmother of some kind? They must have fallen on their heads or something. When the knights would come after them, they would surely take care of them. Just sit tight and don't worry too much. Waiting wasn't Arthurs forte though.

'You can't seriously believe a sorcerer is protecting me, have you lost your mind? Arthur breathed out.

'Not a sorcerer, a warlock, and a very powerful one at that. I couldn't believe it at first too, but there are so many separate reports of this, there must be some merit to it. Believe what you want, you're here and you're not going anywhere. We'll see soon enough if the rumor is true. Try and get some sleep while you can Arthur. If your protector doesn't hurry, we might think he needs some persuasion.' With that the bandit leader turned around and walked away. Leaving Arthur with one bandit guard and his own thoughts.

* * *

Merlin was waking again and Lancelot was determined to keep him calm this time. 'Merlin, I know it probably hurts to move right now, so the best thing you can do is to try and lie still.' Slowly Merlin's eyes opened and he gasped when he still tried to move.

'I told you to lie still. Can you speak?' Lancelot inquired.

'Yeah.' Merlin spoke. 'What has happened? Where are the others? Did you find Arthur yet?'

'Merlin, breathe. Elyan is getting Gaius, because we can't move you without damaging your leg further. Percival is collecting wood, and Leon and Gwaine are tracing the bandits. They will find him. Gwaine was furious at them, so he will do everything it takes to make them pay. In the meanwhile you just have to hang in there.' Merlin nodded and let his head fall back to the ground. His whole body hurt like hell, but especially his leg. He knew he had to be careful with his magic, but he couldn't let himself fall into oblivion again. Only Lancelot was nearby, so he quickly muttered a spell to try and heal himself as far as was possible.

'Merlin! What did you do?' Lancelot watched with open mouth when Merlin tried to sit himself upright. Coming out of his stupor he quickly aided Merlin. 'I can't just leave Arthur with these bandits, he needs all of us. You haven't seen them. They're with too many just for Leon and Gwaine to take care of.'

'Merlin, you just fell down 15 meters. How are you going to explain you came out of it unscathed. The knights all saw you.'

'The knights are not the problem right now! Arthur is alone with these bandits and we need to help him.' Merlin tried to stand up, but couldn't quite manage that yet. Lancelot helped him up, but noticed that Merlin still had to rely on him holding him up. 'You're in no state to go and search for him.' Lancelot stated.

'You know I'm going to try anyway Lancelot. It would mean a lot if you helped.' Lancelot sighed. 'And you know I will never let you go on your own… fine, let's try and find Percival and get to the horses, on the back of a horse you can at least move around faster.'

* * *

The night was falling and Arthur was still tight to the tree. The bandits had began to grow restless and soon enough the bandit leader approached him again.

'It seems this protector doesn't seem the need to come to your aid yet. I think he needs some persuasion.' He stated.

Arthur sighed inwardly and seethed on the outside. 'Or maybe this rumor is just a rumor and there is no magical fairy protecting me at all!'

The grin returned to the bandits face. 'Well, I'm not going to take that risk, and even so, than we at least will have had our fun with you.' He turned around and signaled something to his men. Two of them came forward and started to free Arthur from the tree. His hands however remained bonded together. When they got the rope of, they yanked him to his feet and threw him towards the bandit leader, who was now holding a dagger in his right hand.

'Let's see if this will do the trick.' He said smugly, but before he could strike down an arrow caught his arm. The yell that followed seemed to be more of surprise than of pain. Arthur followed the arrows path and saw Leon and Gwaine approaching. Where were his other knights? Had they found Merlin? He was returned to the present by the roaring of the bandits, ready to attack. His battle skills flared up and he put himself out of the danger zone, taking the fallen dagger with him. With them he began to cut the rope securing his wrists. The sooner he got free, the sooner he would be able to help his friends to take out these bandits.

* * *

Merlin's headache was growing more painful by the minute, but he didn't even think of giving up on Arthur. He could feel they were close by.

'Merlin, are you holding up?' He heard Lancelot ask behind him on the saddle. Without noticing he had slumped back against the knight.

'I'm fine.'

'Merlin.'

'Fine, I'm not fine, but I'm not too bad either, so please just continue.' He admitted. Lancelot opened his mouth to respond, but was interrupted by a scream. Merlin sat up immediately.

'The bandits.' Percival stated and they hurried their horses towards the sounds of battle. When they arrived at the scene it was clear Leon, Gwaine and Arthur were barely holding up. All three of them had to take on several bandits to beat the odds. Percival was of his horse in seconds and ran to aid. Lancelot helped Merlin down before running into the fight himself, but not without a warning. 'Stay out of it Merlin, stay here. You can barely stand. We can take care of these bandits.' He didn't even wait for Merlin to answer before he ran away.

Merlin held himself up by leaning against a tree. He could help them and stay out of it at the same time. However, the truth was his leg had begun to throb harder and harder in the last hour. His magic had helped to keep him up, but it couldn't heal a broken leg completely. Looking at the battle he tried to help by letting branches fall and bandits trip, but every now and then a shot of pain traveled up his leg leaving him panting. He slumped down to the ground. The knights had the upper hand, so his help wasn't needed that bad anymore.

'Well, well, who do we have here?' Suddenly a voice startled him. Merlin tried to get up again but a sword was pointing at his chest, keeping him in the position he had been in. 'The servant about who the almighty king cares. How did you survive that fall in the first place boy? Did the knights find you and bring you here? They should've known better. It's a good thing for me though, you are exactly the leverage I need to get out of here alive.'

This man had pushed Arthur, sending Merlin over the edge. Merlin was ready to take him out. He reached to his magic and… a shot of pain flared up again and he gasped. Before he knew what was happening the bandit had hauled him up, which made his leg even hurt more. The bandit clamped his arm around Merlin's chest, pulling his back against the bandit's chest. He pulled out a dagger put it near his neck. 'Now walk, let's see if your king indeed does care about you.'

When they approached the scene Merlin was panting and gasping more and more. Because the bandit pushed him forward he had no other choice to walk, but his leg made it nearly impossible to keep up right. If it hadn't been for the bandit's arm around his chest he would already have fallen down. The bandit came to a halt and Merlin's knees almost buckled. The bandit however drew him closer to his chest and pressed the dagger harder to his neck. Due to the pain and blurring vision Merlin couldn't even find it in himself to reach towards his magic and he never had felt so vulnerable.

* * *

'King Arthur! Stop this fight this instant or your servant here will pay the price.' Arthur suddenly heard. At the mention of Merlin he tried to figure out where the voice had come from and the sight that met his eyes stopped him dead in his tracks. A very pale Merlin who seemed to be on the brink of consciousness was being held by the bandit leader, who grinned smugly at Arthur. He had him and he knew it.

'Throw down you sword and let you knights do the same and no harm will come to this boy. Or no more harm I should say.' Arthur seethed but threw down his sword anyway. The other knights had heard the commotion and angrily threw down their swords too. The bandits didn't lose a second and grabbed the swords from the forest grounds.

'I guess you were right after all, Arthur, there is no magical fairy looking over your shoulder. I want to make a deal. You and your knights let us tie you to one of the trees, so we can leave in peace, in return I will leave your servant boy with you, no further harm done.' The bandit said, knowing he couldn't win the fight fairly.

Arthur clenched his fists and next to him he saw Gwaine do the same. 'How will we know, you won't just kill us when we're tight up.' He asked.

You think we're ordinary bandits, but let me tell you, we're not. We're outcasts, we were once druids, but our magic got stolen from us. Only the warlock Emrys can return us our powers. We know for a fact he won't do that if we have killed innocent people. We thought Emrys would protect you, hence the plan to kidnap you, but it was never our attempt to kill any of you.'

'Why would I believe your story. You tried to kill Merlin when you threw him down that abyss!' Arthur was seething, did that bastard really think he would believe him after what he had done to Merlin.

'It wasn't my intention to throw him down that abyss. I wanted to take you both! Use him to let you comply and call out your protector.' Arthur didn't know what to say. He wanted to comply, to save Merlin, but he couldn't put his knights in such danger. Merlin looked paler by the second and was leaning heavily to the leader.

'We will do as you ask.' Suddenly he heard Lancelot say. He caught Lancelot's stare and when he met the faces of his other knights he saw they were all willing to take the risk. Arthur then nodded and immediately the bandits surrounding him led him and the other knights to some trees. The five of them were tight around different tree and when the last knot was tight, the leader laid Merlin on the ground where he was standing.

'My sincere apologies King Arthur. I don't expect you to forgive us, but we are truly sorry how this turned out.' The leader bowed towards the knights and after that he and his bandits were out of sights in mere minutes.

'Can you believe this guy! He kidnaps you, throws Merlin down an abyss, attacks us, threatens Merlin and all of us and then he… apologizes!'

'Gwaine, please try to remain calm and help us find a way to get out of this ropes.' Leon answered him, rather focusing on the problem at hand. Lancelot and Arthur both were focused on the figure laying down mere meters from them. When they saw his chest rising, they allowed themselves to breathe out a sigh of relief. Percival was already flexing his muscles. If he could get loose, he could untie the others. He could feel how it worked, how the rope grew weaker and with a roar it snapped. In mere minutes everyone was untied and they all ran towards Merlin. Not wasting a second Arthur carried Merlin towards the horses and sat him in the saddle, taking place behind his friend. Merlin was going back to Camelot and Gaius could help him, all would be good again.

* * *

And in the deepest of his mind, Emrys forgave the once druids for their desperate moves, for he could sense their remorse, especially when they saw his state of being. And when the leader Jargian awoke the next morning, he was stunned to find his powers had returned. A message flashed in his mind. 'You've all been forgiven.'

-Rosie-

**Please let me know what you thought! New prompts are always welcome and expect a new chapter very very soon!**

**Rosie out ;)**


	5. Looks

**Yaeh, I'm back, and a little bit faster as promised :D This story I thought of a few weeks back, don't worry, the next story will be a prompt from one of you guys again! In this one, Morgana is already evil and Gwen is already Queen. **

**Hopefully you'll enjoy it! Let's find out if Merlin's secret was revealed to...**

* * *

_Looks_

* * *

His eyes shot up as soon as he heard the gasp. His fading gold ones locked with terrified brown ones. The glowing vials in front of him returned to their normal states and fell onto his bed. Before he could so much as utter a word, the girl in front of him twirled around and disappeared through the door. For a few seconds he completely froze, then he realized what had happened and he jumped from his bed, causing his spell book to fall to the ground.

'Gwen! Wait!'

She'd seen him using magic! How could this have happened? He always closed his door and was trained to hear anyone enter Gaius quarters. Why hadn't he heard Gwen? The answer was quite simple. Arthur. Arthur had fallen ill, poisoned according to Gaius, with magical poison. However, nothing like he had ever seen before. This all happened a week ago. Merlin hadn't slept, barely eaten and maybe, just maybe, he had found something that could save Arthur, but off course the antidote needed magic to work and although he had remembered to shut the door, he had been too focused to hear anyone enter. Now he was running through the castle halls, chasing one of his friends, who was now terrified of him. He rounded another corner and… ran straight into Gaius.

'Merlin?' Gaius obviously was surprised to see him, the antidote was supposed to be taking a while longer. Merlin opened his mouth to explain but clamped it shut when he realized Leon stood next to Gaius.

'Have you seen Gwen?' He asked, but as Gaius denied seeing her, he sighed. He wanted to, no, he needed to find her. He could only hope she would let him explain and not run to the guards immediately. He was already turning around when a scream stopped him.

'Gaius! You have to come quickly! Arthur, he's getting worse.' Merlin froze at the scream. It was Gwen. He should've known Gwen would run to Arthur. He followed Gaius and Leon to the door of Arthur's chambers, but when he wanted to step through, his eyes locked with Gwen's. It lasted merely a second, but it stopped him dead in his steps. She was worried, obviously about Arthur off course, but the way she looked at him. She was afraid, uncertain and it hurt him physically that one of his best friends was so afraid of him.

'I'm afraid there's nothing I can do my lady. The poison is unlike anything I've seen before, its magic makes it act nothing like a normal poison.' Gaius interrupted Merlin's thoughts.

'Magic? The poison is magical?' Gwen asked. Gwen looked at him. The ferocity of her glance made him stagger back a pace. The fear was still present, as was the uncertainty, but there lingered something new. Something close to anger and that hurt Merlin more than anything else. Gwen was the most kind, light-hearted person he knew. He'd never seen her angry and now her anger was focused on him. He started to shake his head in denial, he wanted so desperately to explain to her that he had nothing to do with this. He could never poison Arthur! He protected him, he wanted to save him! But he couldn't, not with Leon present, so he turned around. He had to save Arthur and hopefully he thereby could convince Gwen he wasn't just another evil sorcerer.

* * *

It was late that evening when Gaius came back. Merlin was sitting at the dining table, staring at the vial before him.

'It's finished.' He simply stated.

Gaius walked closer and sat down opposite from him. 'Care to explain to me what's going on?'

'Nothing's going on! It was difficult magic and it took a lot of energy, but I did it, I finished the cure.'

'Not with the cure, Merlin, with Gwen. I could easily see your discomfort and if nothing was going on you would have visited Arthur the second the cure was ready.'

'She saw me.' Was all what Merlin said, he looked up to Gaius. No tears were present, but Gaius could easily see the hurt written on Merlin's face.

'She saw me using magic on the vial, she ran away and now she's not only afraid of me but angry too! She probably thinks I had something to do with Arthur falling ill, she would never let him drink a potion made by me.'

'Merlin calm down, if she really thought that, you would've been arrested. Merlin stared at Gaius and didn't know what to say. Gwen hadn't had him arrested, but he had seen her anger when the magical poison was mentioned. He let his head fall back in his hands.

'Can you please take the cure to Arthur.'

Merlin, you shou…'

'Please. Gaius. I can't take any chances, I have to be sure Arthur gets it.' Merlin had wanted to go to Arthur with the cure, he really had, but then he thought of Gwen and when she doubted him, she wouldn't take the risk. He had wanted to proof to her he was good, he was saving Arthur, but actually making sure Arthur got the poison was more important. Gaius tried to look in his eyes, but Merlin kept his head down. Gaius sighed and stood up, he took the vial and after a last glance at Merlin he walked out the door towards Arthurs quarters, leaving his ward to his own thoughts.

* * *

Gwen sat alone with Arthur. Her hand entangled with his, but her thoughts drifted off towards Merlin. Arthur was poisoned, with a magical potion, and she had seen Merlin use magic on a potion today. Still she could not believe Merlin had poisoned Arthur, but she couldn't forget what she had witnessed. The glowing, floating vials and Merlin's eyes, blazing gold. His behaviour in Arthur's chamber had been odd. She wasn't the only one who had noticed that, even Leon had asked Gaius if something was wrong. Gaius however, had looked just as stunned as them. She didn't want to expose Merlin, she didn't want to see him executed, but magic would corrupt him, maybe already had. Just like with Morgana. Maybe if she told the knights, maybe they could help him, make him understand magic was evil and he shouldn't practise it. The knights were his friends, they wouldn't kill him, would they? She couldn't ask them, she couldn't make them choose between the life of their friend and the safety of Camelot. But what if Merlin had caused Arthur's illness? Merlin wouldn't, he was Arthur's friend. But hadn't Morgana been Arthur's friend too? A knock on the door stopped her chaotic line of thoughts.

'Enter.' She simply said.

Gaius came shuffling back in the room. He had told her he wanted to check on Merlin and she hadn't been able to say no. she felt obligated to ask how Merlin was.

'He's upset about something and he worries about Arthur. He hasn't been sleeping properly the last week.' Gaius shortly answered before focusing back on Arthur.

Worry or bad conscience, Gwen couldn't help to think. She immediately felt bad. Why had Merlin of all people fallen victim to magic.

'…a cure that could work or at least lesson his suffering.' Gaius voice drew Gwen back to the present.

'A cure?' she gasped. Could she really hope Arthur would wake up? Gaius pulled a vial with a potion out of his medicine bag. Gwen pulled Arthur up and slowly Gaius poured the liquid in his mouth. When Gwen stared at the vial, she couldn't keep herself from thinking back to Merlin. What if Merlin has tampered with the cure as well. But when Gaius was finished she only looked hopeful to the unconscious man lying on his bed.

* * *

Merlin was lying on his bed, staring at his ceiling, since Gaius went to Arthur, his thoughts had been swirling through his head.

Would the cure work?

Would Gwen let Arthur drink it?

Would she report him to Arthur?

Would she have him executed?

What if the cure didn't work, would she blame him?

Would she accuse him of poisoning Arthur in the first place?

Would she listen to his explanation?

Would she ever trust him again?

Would they still be friends?

It hurt him to think they wouldn't. Gwen had been one of his first friends and maybe now that was over. He heard the door to Gaius quarters open. Why hadn't he done that this afternoon. He heard Gaius' footsteps towards his door and the door to his room opened. Merlin didn't look up.

'Merlin..' Gaius spoke and Merlin closed his eyes. It hadn't worked, the cure hadn't saved Arthur.

'You did it Merlin. Arthur's awake and already demands a bath, so I think he'll make a full recovery.'

Merlin let out a breath he didn't know he had been holding. A little smile formed on his lips, but he didn't get up. Gaius sat down on the bed and placed his hand on Merlin's shoulder. 'You have to get up Merlin, I know it's late, but Arthur was really persistent when he asked for his bath.' Merlin just shrugged.

'If you wait long enough, I'm sure Arthur will send some guards to help you.' Gaius still got no reaction.

'Merlin, Arthur needs a…'

'His bath can wait Gaius, Gwen's still there.' Merlin retorted while turning on his side, away from Gaius.

'I was going to say a friend, Merlin, the bath is obviously a way to ask for you. He nearly died and he needs someone to talk to.'

'I can't.' Merlin simply stated.

'Merlin…'

'Fine! I'm going to make his bath, happy now?!' Merlin sprung up and left a sighing Gaius behind.

* * *

Arthur lay in his bed, one arm around a sleeping Guinevere. According to Gaius he had been out for a week because of a magical enhanced poison. Gwen had told him how worried she and everyone else had been, so it hadn't been a surprise when she had fell asleep. What had been a surprise was that he hadn't even seen a glimpse of Merlin. Normally he couldn't get rid of his too loyal servant and now, when he had woken up after being on his deathbed for a week, he was nowhere to be seen. That was why he had asked Gaius for a 'bath', for which he was now impatiently waiting. Not that he was worried about Merlin, but yes, he was.

Merlin slowly opened the door to Arthur's chambers, pushing with his shoulder while holding two buckets full of water in his hands.

'Merlin! Finally!' He immediately heard Arthur call and although Gaius had told him Arthur had woken up, he couldn't surpress a smile when he heard Arthur's voice after a week.

'Welcome back to the land of the living, 'sire'.' He answered.

'And it seems I've missed nothing new, my servant still takes his time to do his jobs.' Merlin smirked.

'I'm simply trying to make your waking not anymore shocking 'sire', I wouldn't dare expose you to change now. Anything for your health.'

As Arthur wanted to retort, Gwen woke up. Merlin stiffened, when hearing Arthur he immediately had fallen back to their usual banter, forgetting about Gwen.

'Don't just stand there, Merlin, go and prepare my bath.' Merlin saw Gwen shoot up as his name was mentioned and flinched, she absolutely didn't trust him anymore. He simply nodded and walked over to the tub, intentionally avoiding Gwen's stare. After he had finished preparing the bath, he simply bowed and quickly left the room. Outside he sighed. He would have to talk to Gwen alone, but if she was afraid of him that wasn't likely to happen. Something had to happen though, otherwise people would start to notice.

* * *

Arthur looked at the door in confusion. He was still figuring out what just had happened, when Gwen took his hand. When he looked in her eyes he only grew more confused; she looked afraid. And now that he thought about it. Merlin had left almost immediately after Gwen had woken. Something had happened this last week between the two.

'What's going on between you and Merlin?' he asked.

Gwen stiffened, why did Arthur have to be so perceptive today of all days.

'What do you mean? Nothing is going on, he probably feels a little awkward because I'm here, maybe he hadn't noticed.' She replied, it was a weak lie and she knew it. Merlin had walked in on them lying in bed more than once, that never had stopped him. Gwen could see Arthur didn't buy it. He kept staring her in the eyes, obviously asking for the truth this time.

'Arthur, don't ask, please. It's something Merlin and I need to talk about, something happened, but you can't fix it.'

'Gwen.'

'I won't tell you.' She interrupted him. 'Maybe later, but not now.'

Arthur stared at her. He let go of her hand. 'Go talk with him then.'

'Arthur don't be like that. If I tell you I betray a friends trust.' She stared into his eyes, but couldn't read them.

'It's fine! But I want this solved, so go talk to him now.' Arthur stubbornly said. Gwen sighed and slowly stood up. She knew she had to talk to Merlin, but she hadn't thought about what to say yet. She wasn't ready to confront Merlin, but she had to do something, so she slowly made her way towards Gaius quarters.

* * *

Merlin returned to his chambers way to quickly according to Gaius. His ward didn't say a word to him, before retreating to his room. Gaius sighed and considered what to do. Eventually he grabbed Merlin's dinner and opened the door to his room, revealing the boy lying on his bed, staring at the ceiling. Again.

'You barely touched your food tonight.' No answer. 'Merlin…'

'I was busy.' Came the short reply

'You're not busy now, so eat.' Merlin sighed, but sat up and took the plate from Gaius. As soon as he looked at the food he put down the plate next to him, there was no way he could eat anything right now.

'Merlin, look at me, you're not arrested. Gwen didn't send for you, that has to mean something, she doubting her judgement of magic, of you. You of all people can explain to her that magic isn't essentially evil.' Gaius tried.

'Can I? You didn't see the way she looked at me. She was my first friend here in Camelot. I was in the stocks and she didn't judge me, she came and talked to me. I felt awful when her father fell ill, I wanted to help her so badly, but when I did, she got arrested for it. When everything had worked out, I wanted to tell her about me, but I couldn't, I couldn't put her in that position, not when she just recently had spent time in jail for something I did.' Merlin sighed. 'When she found out and she looked at me today, she did judge me, she looked at me as if, as if I was a monster.'

Gaius looked up at that statement. 'I've told you before Merlin, never think that you're a monster, I meant it back then and I mean it now. Magic is not evil, it's how you use it. You just used it to cure Arthur.' There came no response. Gaius placed his hand on Merlin's shoulder. 'Don't ever think you're evil, you're most definitely not a monster.'

Merlin didn't look up. 'I'm going to bed. Arthur will want to see me bright and early tomorrow.' He tried to say with a laugh. Gaius sighed inwardly when Merlin turned away from him again. He stood up and walked towards the door. 'Good night then.' He said when he closed the door behind him and walked to his own cot.

* * *

Gwen had wanted to go in and talk to Merlin, but now she found herself back in her chambers, contemplating what she had just heard Gaius and Merlin say.

* * *

**So... What did you think? Hopefully I can post the next chapter somewhere in the very near future! Seeing how many of you view my story makes me extremely happy. Please leave a review with your thoughts or prompts! Oh and sorry if there are any weird or horrible mistakes, I'm not perfect ;)**

**Rosie out!**


	6. Looks (part 2)

**Hye there, I'm back. I love all the follows, favorites and reviews I'm getting from you guys! It keeps me wanting to update this (If any of you are reading my other story, no worries that one will be updated soon as well!)**

**Here is part 2 in the story Looks! (It seems as if my presumed one shot collection is turning into a two shot collection :D)**

**Stay tuned at the end, I will tell you the next prompt I will do. If any of you have any ideas, prompts are always welcome!**

* * *

_Looks part 2_

Slowly Gwen walked into Gaius quarters, it seemed Gaius wasn't there. Gwen felt unsure again. Arthur had told her to talk to Merlin and she wanted too, but now she was here alone and unprotected. She knew she had to speak to Merlin alone, she couldn't spill his secret to anyone, but she had hoped Gaius at least would've been in the other room. When she walked closer to Merlin's room she heard Gaius voice, so he was here, determinant to set through with her talk, she raised her hand to knock.

'Am I? You didn't see the way she looked at me.' She heard Merlin say. Was he talking about her? 'She was my first friend here in Camelot.' Gwen got tears in her eyes when she listened to Merlin; he had saved her father and in stead of thinking of himself and finally sharing his secret, he had still tried to protect her.

'But when she looked at me today, she did judge me, she looked at me as if, as if I was a monster.' And at that moment Gwen felt disgust towards herself. She had hurt her friend and even though Merlin had practiced magic, she felt like the monster. Gaius next words broke her heart entirely. It hadn't been the first time Merlin had thought of himself as a monster. Somewhere in her head a voice yelled that Gaius was a traitor too, for harboring Merlin, but she tried desperately to ignore it. Wait, had she heard correctly? A cure? Had Merlin used his magic to cure Arthur. When she heard the two saying good night, she turned around and quickly walked away, first she had to grasp all this new information.

* * *

'Rise and shine!'

Arthur turned around in his bed. It was way too early to get up and it hadn't helped he could barely fall asleep last night after Gwen's weird behavior. For God's sake he had been dying this week, couldn't Merlin be perceptive enough to let him rest for a day... or two. When his covers were pulled of a second later he got his answer. He could have known.

'Merlin, go wake up someone else or something. Can't you let me sleep, I've literary been dying this last week.' He grumpily said.

'You've been laying in bed all week yes, missing all your duties which you have to catch up to today, so get up.' Merlin answered. Arthur groaned and sat up. 'I'm not the only royal here, Merlin, I'm sure Gwen has dealt with most of...' He didn't miss Merlin's flinch when he mentioned Gwen. Once again he found himself trying to figure out what had happened. 'Have you and Gwen talked yesterday evening?' He asked. Merlin confusedly looked up. 'Talked?' He said before he could stop himself. Arthur sighed inwardly. He loved Gwen with all his heart, but first he couldn't know what this was all about and now he found out she outright ignored his suggestion to talk to Merlin.

'Yes, talked. She told me... something had happened and I told her to go talk with you, because ever since I woke up you two have been acting all awkward around each other.' When Arthur looked up to Merlin, he found his servant staring at him with open mouth.

'She told you?!'

'I guess I can take this as proof you haven't talked to her yet. Yes, she told me something was up, and no, she hasn't been giving me any details, which is in fact ridiculous, but I need this whole mess cleared up so I can finally forget about the last attack on my life, so you are released from your morning duties. You. Talk. To. Her. Hopefully you're better at following a sincere suggestion from me for this once, so I can leave this mess behind me.

Still dumbfounded about the fact Arthur had actually noticed something was going on and the fact Gwen had refused to tell Arthur what, Merlin actually did what was asked of him for once. Slowly he walked to Gwen's chambers. Suddenly a thought occurred to him. If Arthur had told Gwen to talk to him, why hadn't he seen here. Was she really that afraid of him? Maybe Gaius was right and it would be a good idea to take the first step and talk to Gwen, but did he dare? He knew he had to, but when he stood before Gwen's doors it took him a lot of effort to knock. When he almost thought she wasn't there and turned around, her voice called.

'Come in.'

* * *

When someone knocked on her door, Gwen was startled from her thoughts. She still wasn't sure what she thought. Or in fact, she did, but she wasn't sure if it was the right path to take. Merlin couldn't be evil. He just had made a mistake when he wanted to save his friends from harm. First with her father and now with Arthur, his mistake was just that he was too loyal to his friends, but Gwen could make him see magic wasn't the answer. That magic would corrupt even him, just like Morgana. Her only problem was that Gwen was afraid to talk to Merlin about this, what if she was wrong; what if he already was corrupted? No, she just couldn't believe that, he had saved Arthur, that had to count for something. Merlin had risked magic to save her father and her husband, she was willing to take a risk for him now. She would do everything in her power to save him. Then she remembered the knock.

'Come in.' She called, when she turned to the door and saw who was coming through, her breath hitched. 'Merlin, what are you doing here? Shouldn't you be with Arthur?'

'He, eh, told me to talk to you.' Right, perceptive Arthur, she had forgot about that. When she looked at Merlin and saw how he was avoiding to look at her, she made her decision. There was now way an evil corrupted sorcerer could be so nervous. When she walked up to him, she ignored his fidgeting and hugged him. She felt Merlin tense up.

'Thank you Merlin, I know you saved Arthur and I'm not going to report you to anyone.' She said, Merlin somewhat relaxed. Gwen inwardly sighed; now for the hard part, and she drew back from the hug. 'But Merlin, as grateful as I am, you can't keep doing this.' She tried to look him in the eye. 'Magic will corrupt everyone and I won't let that happen to you.' She saw him tense up again and clench his fists. Unconsciously she took a step back. Had her judgement been wrong after all and had Merlin already turned for the worse?

'Merlin, please listen, you're my friend and I am really very grateful Arthur is save, but I won't let you fall pray to magic. You can still stop. It may seem like it's harmless, like it's helping you save your friends, but eventually it will corrupt even you. Same as it did with Morgana.' She felt awful for mentioning their old friend, but maybe Merlin would understand her point now. Merlin still didn't speak.

'Merlin, please say something.' Gwen said, getting a bit nervous now. Merlin just stood there not moving at all, only shaking his head slightly, as if he wasn't even aware of doing it. He opened his mouth as if he wanted to say something, but than he closed it, looked at Gwen, turned around and almost ran away. Gwen was left dumbstruck in her rooms, and she would never forget that look Merlin had just given her.

* * *

'He, eh, told me to talk to you.' Merlin had never felt so out of place as right now, turning awkwardly around someone who had been one of his closest friends for so long. He couldn't even look at Gwen's face right now, afraid of receiving the same look as yesterday, the one he was so desperately trying to forget. And suddenly he found himself in a hug. Not expecting that he tensed up.

'Thank you Merlin, I know you saved Arthur and I'm not going to report you to anyone.' And just like that he could breath again. 'But Merlin, as grateful as I am, you can't keep doing this.' Wait, what? 'Magic will corrupt everyone and I won't let that happen to you.' Gwen thought he had chosen magic, he still had to explain everything to her, and what if she had only hugged him, because she thought she could fix him. She still thought all magic was bad, even though it just had saved Arthur. Unconsciously he clenched his fists. Why couldn't people see magic for what it was. He saw Gwen take a step away from him and he quickly unclenched his fists. He didn't want Gwen to be afraid of him, he wanted to explain everything.

'Merlin, please listen, you're my friend and I am really very grateful Arthur is save, but I won't let you fall pray to magic. You can still stop. It may seem like it's harmless, like it's helping you save your friends, but eventually it will corrupt even you.' Merlin wanted to speak up, but before he could Gwen continued. 'Same as it did with Morgana.' Merlin lost his words. Morgana. That was why Gwen thought everyone with magic could be corrupted. If he could have saved Morgana, if he would've helped her properly... He knew Morgana had made her choice, but it still felt as his mistake.

'Merlin, please say something.' Gwen said, but Merlin was lost in his thoughts. When he returned to the present he opened his mouth to try and explain, but no words came out. His mistakes had made Gwen afraid of him. First with Morgana and now with the door. His throat was feeling closed and he couldn't speak. Maybe his magic has caused more problems than solutions. Without his magic, maybe he could have been a true friend for Morgana, helped her properly. Maybe Gwen was right and should he just stop. He looked up at Gwen and vowed to talk to her that afternoon, but for now he needed some time alone first. To evade her calling him back he quickly turned and ran.

* * *

After some time, Merlin found himself somewhere in the forest surrounding Camelot. He was breathing heavily and sat down against a tree. It had all been so clear to him until now. Without his magic he was nothing. He needed it, he was magic. But what if all that wasn't true. Without his magic he could still be Arthur's servant. He would still live with Gaius. Nothing would change, except he wouldn't have to lie any more, keep things from everyone. He had wanted to help Morgana, but the fact that he had magic had made him careful. Maybe that was why he'd failed in the first place. He had been selfish, rather than fully helping his friend, he had thought about his own secret.

The longer Merlin sat against the tree, the more convinced he got. Him having magic hadn't been a gift, it had been a curse. The dragon had only told him it was a gift to regain his own freedom, Gaius said it because he didn't want to hurt Merlin. His mother had told him, because she didn't want him to be afraid of himself. But now Merlin had made up his mind. Every curse could be broken, or at least he had to believe that. He had to believe he could break his curse.

* * *

Gwen hurried towards Gaius chambers. When Merlin had turned around and ran, she had been to stunned to move, but she had to finish their conversation. She had been in Arthur's chambers and the court yard already, now going to Merlin's chambers seemed the only option left. As soon as she entered the physicians quarters she saw Gaius.

'Gaius, is Merlin here?' Gaius looked up and slowly shook his head. 'Isn't he with Arthur?' He asked warily.

'Arthur send him to me... to talk.' Gwen was hesitant to give Gaius the full story, but she remembered he had known about Merlin using magic. 'I.. I don't know why, if it was something I said, but he suddenly just ran away. I've been trying to find him ever since. I know you know Gaius. I overheard your talk the other night.' She added. Gaius seemed stunned for a second, but Gwen couldn't be sure.

'What did you say to him?' Gaius asked persistent. Gwen was lost for words. 'Gwen, what exactly did you say.' 'I.. I thanked him. For saving Arthur. And...' Suddenly a loud crash could be heard that shook the whole castle.

'What was that.' Gwen asked, completely abandoning the topic of Merlin. Gaius didn't even have time to answer to answer her before a man came into his chambers. 'Your presence is requested physician. Something happened in the library and there is reason to believe your ward is involved.' Without another word the man disappeared and Gaius and Gwen looked at each other both with different emotions. Gwen wasn't sure to be afraid or feel guilty, because somehow she knew it had to do something with her conversation with Merlin. Gaius only felt worry.

* * *

Merlin sneaked into the library, carefully making sure Geoffrey didn't notice him. Slowly he made his way to the section about curses. It was at the back of the library, not being used that often since magic had been banned. Probably only there as a safety measure for if someone important got cursed. Not someone like him. But he had decided and he needed to go through with it now. So he searched the books until he found what he needed. In his head he started to read the chapter, it seemed not all that hard. With Gaius herbs he should be able to get trough the recipe.

'Merlin! What are you doing?' Suddenly a loud voice boomed into his mind. He couldn't have a conversation with Kilgharrah now. He couldn't have a conversation with Kilgharrah ever again. 'Merlin! Answer me. You can't do this.' Merlin still tried to ignore the voice in his mind, but the dragon kept roaring.

'Leave me alone!' He thought. The dragon's response was immediate. 'You can't go trough with this. You have a destiny.' 'No.' Merlin just said. He had thought about it, he had made up his mind and he didn't need to go over it again. Kilgharrah kept roaring at him. 'Kilgharrah stop this!' Merlin tried to put up block around his mind but it didn't work. Even though he should be able to command Kilgharrah to stop, the dragon kept roaring. Merlin grabbed his head. 'Kilgharrah!' but nothing seemed to get through. Suddenly a bookshelf fell down just before Merlin's feet. His eyes grew wide but before he could do so much as utter a word, more shelves caved, knocking him down. Feeling he was about to pass out he yelled for Geoffrey, but he didn't stay awake long enough to hear if the librarian had heard him. He didn't even notice the bricks landing on top of the fallen shelves a minute later, blocking him from the outer world view.

* * *

As Gaius and Gwen arrived at the library they saw Arthur and Lancelot already there, the first one yelling orders to several knights to help them. It seemed as if they were trying to dig something out of the big pile of debris that lay in the back of the library. Gaius and Gwen simultaneously came to the same conclusion. If Arthur was this erratic and even helping to remove the debris, and the man had said Merlin was involved... Gwen's hand flew to her mouth immediately. Gaius walked closer to the pile.

'I didn't even know he was in here.' Geoffrey was saying to no one in particular. Gaius stood next to him. 'Gaius, I didn't know he was here. When I heard the first shelf cave I was relieved no one was in the library, but than I heard someone call out my name. I tried to reach him in time, but I just could catch a glimpse of him before the rest of the shelves came falling down. I immediately send someone for you.' Gaius just nodded.

'I see him!' Someone suddenly yelled. Arthur and Lancelot hurried to help carry the shelves away and within minutes Merlin had been pulled free. Arthur didn't waste a second and picked up Merlin as careful as he could. Gaius turned around and walked together with Arthur and his ward back to his chambers. Gwen quickly followed, feeling only guilt at this point. She had the feeling this was somehow related to her and Merlin's conversation and now Merlin was hurt. The knights kept trying to clean up the mess in the library.

No one noticed Lancelot glancing at the paper that had been in Merlin's hand. He picked it up and his eyes grew wide. Why would Merlin be looking at a recipe to cut someone off from their magic?

* * *

When Lancelot entered Gaius' chambers he was met with quite a sight. Merlin was laying on the cot, Gwen was cleaning the cuts, while Arthur was bandaging the cut on Merlin's head and arms. Gaius was seemingly preparing a draft of some kind. Lancelot waited until Gaius was ready and had given Merlin the potion to relieve him of most of his pain, hopefully. When Gaius returned to the table, Lancelot stepped close to him and put the paper on the table without saying anything. He didn't want Arthur or Gwen to see it. Gaius looked at him and at the paper. 'Where did you get this?' He whispered sounding shocked. 'Merlin had it.' Lancelot answered. 'What is going on?'

'Lancelot I need you to come and help me with something. Arthur and Gwen, can you please stay here with Merlin for now.' Gaius spoke up. He waited for the nod from Arthur and walked out. Lancelot following him closely. At a long enough distance from his chambers he stopped. 'I don't know why Merlin was looking for a way to cut of someone's magic, but I do know Gwen has found out about Merlin's magic. They talked, but I don't know what they talked about. It hardly seems as a coincidence though.'

Lancelot didn't know what he had expected but it wasn't this. 'Lancelot, I don't know what Gwen said, but yesterday Merlin was devastated by the fact Gwen had looked at him as if he was a monster. For him to even consider cutting of his magic. I don't even know if he would survive. He doesn't comprehend it, but doesn't just have magic, he is magic.'

'I'll talk to Gwen, we need to explain this to her. For now Merlin will not be making any potion, but we need to make sure it never happens. What did happen in the library though? If Merlin was secretly looking for a way to cut of his magic, he wouldn't cover himself in bookshelves.' Lancelot said. Gaius shook his head. 'Maybe Merlin can explain that when he is awake.' Lancelot sensed the distress of the physician and put his hand on his shoulder. 'We will make sure Merlin will be all right Gaius.'

* * *

Gwen made her way to her quarters. She was exhausted. She and Arthur had stayed with Merlin for the rest of the day. Arthur had tried to get her to talk and she shuddered when she remembered their argument.

'I'm not attacking you! The only thing I know is that you and Merlin have some kind of problem and after I send him to you to talk, the next time I hear of him, he is buried under bookshelves and stone! I have given you your space to solve this, but this seems hardly a problem you can fix on your own.' Arthur had yelled. Gwen had refused to answer, which had only angered him more. Eventually Arthur had given in. 'Gwen, he could have died in there. If he hadn't called for Geoffrey no one would have know he was even in there. I want to help you. Both.' Gwen had wanted to tell Arthur, but this was about magic. She couldn't. She couldn't look Arthur in the eye any more so she left him alone with Merlin and Gaius. As soon she entered her room she wanted to collapse on her bed, but there was already someone there.

'Do you know why Merlin was in the library?' Lancelot said. When Gwen shook her head, he continued. 'He was looking for something to break a curse, to cut of someone's magic.' Gwen couldn't believe it. She hadn't thought Merlin had actually agreed with her to stop using magic. She had gotten through to him. 'His magic is not a curse Gwen. It's a gift.' Wait, Lancelot knew about Merlin's magic and had accepted it? He even called it a gift.

'Lancelot, magic corrupts people! How can you say it's a gift.' 'He saved lives with it Gwen!' Lancelot retorted. 'For which I'm grateful, but magic isn't the way. He should never have begun with it. No. I know he saved my father with it, but he shouldn't have.' Gwen stopped Lancelot.

'Gwen you don't understand.' Lancelot tried. 'I understand perfectly well. He wanted to help, but he should have never chosen magic to do it with. he...'

'Was born with it.' Lancelot interrupted. Gwen lost her words and stared at Lancelot. 'What?'

'Merlin didn't choose magic. He was born with it. He told me he could make things move with his mind before he could even talk. He never chose it, he's always had it and he only uses it for good. Magic isn't corrupt, it's the people who wield it and Merlin isn't one of them. Gwen he is magic, if he would cut it of Merlin would... He would die.'

Gwen dropped down on the bed. Lancelot sat down next to her. 'If what you say is true, I caused this.' 'Gwen that was not what I meant.' 'No, Lancelot, I didn't let him speak. I just thought if I could get through to him. To stop him from using magic. I could save him. And now you're telling me, I didn't reject his magic, I rejected him. I heard him talk to Gaius the night before. He was devastated I thought he was a monster and I told him I only thought his magic was wrong. Which basically means I said he was wrong.'

'Gwen, you can still make amends. When he is awake, talk to him. Let him tell you everything. And please stop him from what he was about to do.'

* * *

Merlin slowly woke and all he felt was pain. He groaned and tried to sit up right. 'Merlin! You're awake, you should keep laying down.'

'Gwen? What happened?' He asked, laying back down.

'You went to the library... To find a potion to cut of your magic.' She hesitantly said. Merlin's eyes shot open, he remembered. 'I will do it Gwen, just don't tell Arthur.'

'Merlin...' Gwen's voice broke. 'Merlin you can't.'

'No Gwen, I will, I swear.'

Gwen had tears rolling down her cheeks. 'I'm so sorry for what I said Merlin. I didn't even think to let you speak.' Merlin was lost. 'Merlin, Lancelot told me. He told me you were born with magic, that you only use it for good. He made me see magic isn't evil in itself. How can it be if you've had it all this time. You can't cut of your magic Merlin, you wouldn't survive it. Please promise me you won't. Your magic is not a curse Merlin, whatever I said or did to make you believe that, I was wrong.'' Gwen was openly crying now and Merlin was almost too. Gwen accepted him. With magic. Because she didn't think him evil, so magic couldn't be evil in her eyes too. She never saw him as a monster. She only thought what she was taught: that magic was evil.

'Lancelot said you would tell me what you did with it. Please tell me Merlin.' And Merlin did, he told her about his magic, his destiny, about all the times he had used it for good. And Gwen smiled at him and suddenly his pain didn't seem that important any more.

'Please forgive me for ever doubting you Merlin.' Merlin just smiled at Gwen and she carefully hugged him. 'What happened in the library though?' Merlin looked at her. 'I think.. a friend stopped me from making a mistake.'

* * *

They had talked for hours and their friendship never had been this strong. Gaius and Lancelot had been told what had happened. Arthur had dropped by and had been obviously content about the fact his wife and friend had talked properly. He still didn't understand, but seemed okay with it for now. Merlin had promised Gwen he would one day tell Arthur. Maybe soon, but that was something to think about. When Gwen and Arthur left he had called out to Kilgharrah.

'What did you do to me in the library? Why couldn't I stop you?' He asked.

'I heard you reading the recipe, young warlock. I'm your kin, I would and could never allow you to kill yourself. Most certainly not when you weren't even aware of it. You might be a dragon lord, but a dragon can always save his kin, no matter what kind of power they held over each other. My measures seemed to be drastic, but at least it got you away from that recipe.'

'You already seem to know I've changed my mind about it now.'

'I kept an eye on you Merlin, I always do.'

'Thank you.' Merlin had answered sincerely, before his eyes closed again and he fell in a peaceful slumber.

* * *

**And? Did you guys like it? Please give me a review, I'm addicted to them. Again sorry if there are any weird mistakes, I do try to keep them out as much as possible, but there probably always is this one sneaky one I miss...**

**The next prompt was send to me in a PM so I'm not sure if I can name him/her, at least I can tell you the prompt: Merlin leaves Arthur... but why? Stay tuned, because I hope to update this in the near future! A hint: It has something to do with Druids and Destiny...**

**Rosie out!**


End file.
